Shattered By Broken Dreams

Blade walked into the dance with Charlie on his arm and spotted Melody almost immediately. She was standing in a corner with Brandon hanging on every word he said.

Now it was him who was thinking of porn. Her little red dress fit her body like a glove and it made him wonder how her father even let her out of the house looking like that. If she wasn’t 16 he would have dragged her out of there and took her home and done things to her that her father would have shot him for even thinking of let alone doing.

When she spotted him over by the punch bowl she excused herself and marched right over to him. “What are you doing here?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

“It’s a free country isn’t it?” he said.

“It’s a high school dance, idiot”

“I’m aware of that” he nodded and took a sip of the punch. After making a funny face he spit it back in the cup. “Nasty” he whispered and set the cup down.

“I supposed you are here with that little tramp, Charlie!” she said

“Oh you mean the little tramp that’s hanging all over your boyfriend right now?” he nodded his head in their direction.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she said

“Watch your mouth,” he said.

“What are you my dad now?” she walked away from him and went outside.

She stood by the flag pole, opened her purse and took out a pack of cigarettes. After watching her light one, Blade grabbed it out of her hand and threw it on the ground.

“Smoking now?” he said.

“Will you just get away from me!” she said and started walking away.

“I can’t, I told your dad I would watch…” he stopped himself realizing that he just gave himself away. She stopped walking away and turned around to face him.

Slowly, she walked back up to where he stood. “What did you say?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard him.

“Nothing, never mind”

“NO! You tell me right now” she demanded.

He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Your dad asked me to come and keep an eye on you.”

“Son of a bitch!” she yelled. “Well, you did your job, I’m leaving now so just fucking leave me alone.”

Melody walked away from him and he started to follow after her, but she turned around and stopped him. “Get away from me or so help me I’ll scream so loud you’re ears will bleed.” After yelling at him she continued down the street and walked herself home.

Knowing that her parents were still awake, she walked around to her bedroom window and opened it from the outside. After climbing in she turned on a lamp and walked over to her closet and pulled out a suitcase. She packed all that she could manage to stuff into her suitcase and sat down at her desk to write a letter.

Dear Daddy,

I am sorry if this hurts your feelings, but what you did tonight, hurt mine. I’m not a little girl and it’s time you learned that I am more grown up than you think I am. I am leaving for San Francisco to go to art school. The one I asked you about and you said no too. I am not going to let you turn me into another Jonnie. I am not going to let you keep me from my dreams.

I’ll call you when I get settled. Don’t bother coming to get me because I will not come back with you. I may only be 16, but like you said, mom was supporting herself at 16 and all I want to do is go to art school. You’ll have to learn to trust me eventually, so now is a good a time as any.

Please tell mom that I’m sorry.
I love you both,
Melody

After she finished writing the note she set her pen down on the desk and grabbed her sketchbook to set it beside the note.

A few minutes later she climbed back out her bedroom window with her suitcase.

--

Jonnie…

Jonnie was sitting on the couch watching television when Blade walked into the house. After going into the kitchen to get himself a beer he walked over and sat on the couch beside her.

“So, what’s a honey like you doing home alone on a Saturday night” he smiled a cheesy smile.

“That is the worst pick up line ever,” she laughed.

“Yeah, I don’t usually have to use a pick up line, but why are you home anyway?”

“No reason, Lyric went to the game with his dad so it’s just me and the television tonight” she smiled.

He moved over closer to her on the couch. “So, what ya watchin?” he asked with the same cheesy grin

She laughed, “I’m watching True Blood”

“Ooh Vampires” he winked and pretended to bite her neck, which made her, laugh even more.

“Stop!” she said.

“And what if I don’t?” he asked and nipped at her shoulder.

“If you don’t I’m going to have to…” she started to say, but he cut her off with his lips.

At first she kissed him back, but when she thought of Lyric she stopped herself.

“You shouldn’t do that again!” she said tapping his nose with her finger.

“Why not?” he asked playing with the strap on her wife beater.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea” she smiled

“Well, I have a better idea” he grinned.

“and what might that be?” she knew where he was going and it did make her curious a little bit. Lyric had opened up her sexual side, but technically she was still a free agent.

“hmmm, you’re gonna have to come up to my room if you really want the answer” he rested his head on her shoulder and she started to laugh again.

“Smooth, Blade.” She laughed again.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sighed when he saw Brian’s name on the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Where the hell is my daughter?” he yelled on the other end and Blade held the phone away from his ear

“How should I know?” he asked

“It’s 1:00am, you went to the dance didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but she left long before it was over. I assumed she went home”

“You assumed wrong. I swear if anything happened to her, I’m going to kill you!”

“Damn it! I’ll go look for her” he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

“What’s the matter?” Jonnie asked.

“Melody never made it home from the school dance.” He looked frustrated and angry at the same time.

“Come on” she said getting up off the couch. “I’ll help you look for her”

--

The Mansion

When Blade and Jonnie got to the mansion everyone was awake and in the living room with the exception of Seven and Legend who had left earlier for their honeymoon.

Zacky and Aubrey sat on the loveseat while Jimmy and Tera sat on the couch. Johnny stood beside Riley who sat in the recliner. Brian couldn’t sit still he paced the living room while Stormy cried on her sister’s shoulder. Lyric was sitting on the arm of the couch and when he caught sight of Jonnie walking in with Blade he felt a little pang of jealousy.

“Johnny go with Zacky, Blade you go with Lyric and Jimmy you come with me” Matt said

“I’m going too” Brian said.

“No, you need to stay here incase she calls or comes home” Matt said.

“I’m going!” he protested.

“Brian!” Matt grabbed him and turned him around to see his wife crying on Sydney’s shoulder. “You need to stay here for her damn it. Melody isn’t just your daughter. We’ll call you as soon as we find her”

Brian nodded and they all left.

“I’ll make some coffee” Tera said and went into the kitchen. Riley and Jonnie followed after her.

Brian walked over to his wife and pulled her into his chest where she continued to cry.

--
Blade and Lyric…

“What were you doing with Jonnie?” Lyric asked Blade as they walked through the school parking lot looking for any sign of Melody.

“What’s it to you?”

“It’s nothing to me, I was just wondering”

“ahh jealous much?” Blade asked.

“Of you?” Lyric laughed heartily “Right”

“Well it sure sounds like it” he said

They continued to walk, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

“Well, you may as well give up because you have about as much of a chance of sleeping with Jonnie as you do with Melody” Lyric said.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Blade stopped walking and looked at Lyric

“Come on, we aren’t stupid. We all see the way you look at Mel, you’re just waiting for the day when she turns 18 so you can break her in and then break her heart.”

“Don’t fucking talk about her like that” he warned.

“It’s true isn’t it? If it wasn’t you wouldn’t be so pissed off right now”

“fuck you asshole, we’ll see who gets pissed off later when Jonnie comes home with me” Blade said and walked away

--

Zacky and Johnny…

They walked through the park shouting her name, but Melody never answered.

“If she was my daughter she never would have went to the damn dance in the first place” Johnny said.

“Do you ever feel like you were a little to overbearing with Jonnie?” Zacky asked.

“No, why?”

“Just curious” Zacky lit a cigarette and continued to look around for Mel.

“I know you all think I’m too hard on her” he said.

“Hey I aint here to judge. I do however, think you are being given a second chance and you are going to blow it before it even happens, but that’s just my opinion”

“How so?” Johnny looked offended by Zacky’s statement.

They walked in step with each other while Zacky continued to speak. “Do you love Riley?” he asked

“Of course” Johnny nodded.

“No, I mean do you really love her or is she just a place holder for Kelli?”

Johnny stopped and he too lit a cigarette. “I love my wife” was all he said.

“I see” Zacky nodded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing”
“No, tell me” Johnny said

“She’s having a baby that you don’t want. She gave up everything for you and a baby that wasn’t even hers and yet for over 20 years you held on to someone else, someone who’s never coming back and for some reason, Riley accepted that and she stayed. If I were her I would have left your ass a long time ago” he said looking Jonnie right in the eye.

--

Matt and Jimmy

The took the pier and walked along the dimly lit boardwalk, but Melody hadn’t turned up their either.

“Slow down chicken neck” Matt yelled.

“Walk faster fruit loop!” Jimmy yelled back.

“You are really starting to get on my nerves” Matt yelled

“Good!”

“If you don’t slow down, I swear I’m going to kick your ass when I catch you”

“You can try!” Jimmy yelled.

Matt ran and caught up to Jimmy. “What was that?”

Jimmy stopped and stood in front of Matt. “I SAID YOU CAN TRY! BETTER TURN UP YOUR HEARING AID GRANDPA!” Jimmy yelled.

Matt put his hands on his hips and lowered his head. “I’m going to count to three and when I get to three you better run because if you are still standing here when I get to three your wife wont be able to recognize you when I get through with you. ONE – TWO- THREE!”

By the time he got to three Jimmy was already half way down the boardwalk.

Brian and Stormy. …

It was nearly 3am when Stormy walked back up to the kitchen. She walked right up to her husband with tears in her eyes. “What did you do?” she asked

“What?” he asked having no idea what she was talking about.

She handed him the letter she found in Melody’s room and he looked at her and then down at the letter.

“Shit” he whispered.

“What did you do?” she asked again.

He didn’t answer; he just walked away and went downstairs.

Greyhound

Somewhere in a bus stop sat a girl waiting for a bus without a care as to the nightmare she had just caused for everyone in her entire household. When the bus came, she boarded and never looked back….